With several members of her immediate family at her side, Mercer County Commissioner Olivia M. Lazor was sworn in for a fourth term Monday.

Conducting the ceremony in Courtroom No. 1 was President Judge Francis J. Fornelli.

The official swearing-in date for the county's elected row officers and judges is this coming Monday, but Mrs. Lazor asked that the private ceremony be held ahead of time because of the recent death of her husband, Ed Lazor.

While fighting back tears after the ceremony, Mrs. Lazor also explained that family members from out of town would only be able to stay for a short time before having to return home, so "I wanted to make sure that all the family was together."

Family members in attendance included her son, Ed; son-in-law and daughter, Gary and Teresa Paporello, of New Jersey; and grandchildren, Madison Lazor, Kristen Paporello and Kyle Paporello.

The swearing-in, Mrs. Lazor's fourth, enabled her to officially join Lawrence Wilhelm (1942, '55, '59 and '64) and William M. Reznor (1980, '84, '88 and '92) as the only commissioners in county history to be elected four times.

"It is historical and it is rare," she said. "There have been two other commissioners who have had four 4-year terms -- Mr. Wilhelm and Mr. Reznor -- and I feel very proud and honored to have had the electorate choose me again. And I know that I will represent them to the best of my ability to do the job that they've elected me to do with fidelity and with honesty."

On Monday, Common Pleas Court judges-elect Christopher St. John and John Reed will be sworn in at 9 a.m., while commissioners-elect Brian Beader and Michele Brooks, as well as the remainder of the county's row officers, will be sworn in at 1:30 p.m.

You can e-mail Herald Political Writer Jeff Greenburg at jgreenburg@sharonherald.com.